March 8 (Bloomberg) -- Under Armour Inc. will provide
jerseys and other team apparel to Tottenham Hotspur, giving the
U.S. sportswear maker its first contract with a club in soccer’s
richest league.

“This allows us to create a media vehicle in a market
where we are under-penetrated,” Mark Dowley, Under Armour’s
executive vice president, global brand and president of
international, said today in an interview in London.

The Baltimore-based company, which exceeded $1 billion in
annual sales for the first time last year, said it will take
over from the English Premier League team’s current supplier,
Puma AG, at the start of the 2012-13 season.

Tottenham, which has Wales national team member Gareth Bale
and Dutch World Cup player Rafael van der Vaart in its squad,
qualified for the Champions League for the first time after
finishing fourth in England’s top division last season. It plays
Italian league leader AC Milan in the second match of their
round-of-16 encounter tomorrow after a 1-0 win in Italy on Feb.
15.

The north London club had been “at the top of our play
book,” Dowley said. Under Armour is looking to sign more deals
with soccer clubs in the Premier League as well as in the rest
of Europe, he added.

“They are an extremely ambitious brand with global
aspirations, making them ideal partners for Tottenham Hotspur,”
Daniel Levy, Tottenham’s chairman, said in a statement on the
club’s website.

Under Armour has been expanding agreements with sports
teams and athletes in recent years to increase its market share
outside the U.S. As well as having deals with New England
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and Olympic downhill champion
Lindsey Vonn to market its cotton performance sportswear, it
provides apparel for the Wales rugby union team.